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Haiti Earthquake Anniversary

January 11, 2011 8:08 AM

Haiti Earthquake Anniversary

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Haiti Earthquake Anniversary

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January 12, 2011 marks the one-year anniversary of the crushing magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti about 15 kilometers southwest of Port-au-Prince, the capital. In this series of reports, VOA revisits the country to see how things stand and find out how the survivors are coping with last year's massive loss.

* The video above was shot by Haitian Michel Eric Gaillard from his balcony as the earthquake struck.

January 12, 2011 marks the first anniversary of a crushing magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti about 15 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. An estimated 250,000 people died in the tremblor, assessed by experts as the worst disaster of 2010 in terms of human cost. The quake was the largest to hit the region in 200 years, and knocked out water, electricity and communications in the country. Haitians turned to the Internet to find information about what was going on and to communicate with loved ones outside of Haiti.

Teams from all over the world quickly came to provide assistance to the nation. Numerous problems including blocked roads, bureaucratic confusion and the collapse of local authority hampered initial efforts to help the victims. According to officials, progress has been made toward a recovery despite the problems, but earthquake survivors complain that progress has been glacial.

In this series of reports, VOA revisits earthquake-ravaged Haiti to see where things now stand and how the survivors are coping with last year's massive loss.